The nightmare aftermath of Hiroshima: Parents carry burned children past corpses and rubble in rare photographs taken during the days after atomic bomb killed 140,000 people
Horrifically injured locals are pictured dying (inset) along
flattened streets strewn with corpses (centre) in the western Japanese
city only hours after the nuclear bomb, nicknamed 'Little Boy', was
dropped. Radiation in the city was so intense that families posing for
the chilling images (left and right) would have died of exposure
poisoning in the weeks, months and years that followed the August 6,
1945 attack. As Japan today commemorates the loss of 140,000 people
killed in the initial blast, as well the countless numbers who died
later, the incredibly rare images have now gone on display together for
the first time Scotland's Secret Bunker museum in a small town in Fife.
The nightmare aftermath of Hiroshima: Parents carry burned children past corpses and rubble in rare photographs taken during the days after atomic bomb killed 140,000 people
- Horrifically injured locals are pictured dying on flattened streets strewn with corpses just hours after the bomb hit
- Radiation in the city was so intense that everybody pictured in the chilling images would have died soon afterwards
- The images taken 70 years ago today show mothers cradling their badly injured babies while covered in blood
- Japan is today remembering the 140,000 killed in the initial blast, as well the countless numbers who died later
Horrifically
injured locals are pictured wandering along flattened streets strewn
with corpses in the western Japanese city only hours after the nuclear
bomb, nicknamed 'Little Boy', was dropped.
Radiation
in the city was so intense that everybody pictured in the chilling
images would have died of exposure poisoning in the weeks, months and
years that followed the August 6, 1945 attack.
As
Japan today commemorates the loss of 140,000 people killed in the
initial blast, as well the countless numbers who died later, the
incredibly rare images have now gone on display together for the first
time at Scotland's Secret Bunker museum in a small town in Fife.
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Haunting: Horrifically injured locals
are pictured dying on flattened streets strewn with corpses in the
western Japanese city only hours after the nuclear bomb, nicknamed
'Little Boy', was dropped
Doomed:
Wrapped in bloodied bandages, families pose for photographs seemingly
unaware that they'll almost certainly have been exposed to fatal levels
of radiation poisoning in the aftermath of the blast. Right, Injured
locals walk along streets strewn with corpses
Dying: The haunting photographs are thought to have been taken shortly after the attack, 70 years ago today
Devastated: Hardly any buildings in Hiroshima were left standing after the massive atomic bomb blast
The
images taken shortly after the attack 70 years ago today show mothers
cradling their injured babies while covered in blood, as well as
survivors picking through the rubble of the city.
Wrapped
in bloodied bandages, families pose for photographs seemingly unaware
that they'll almost certainly have been exposed to fatal levels of
radiation poisoning in the aftermath of the blast.
The
collection of photographs were discovered 10 years ago, but their
display at Scotland's Secret Bunker museum is believed to be the first
time they have been shown together.
It
is thought the images found their way to Scotland after Scottish RAF
pilot Clifford Fern purchased a second hand camera in Iwakuni - 15 miles
outside Hiroshima - just six months after the bombings.
The
unknown photographer is believed to have died shortly before his camera
went on sale, as nobody could have survived the radiation levels in the
area so soon after the bombing.
Mr
Fern took the camera back to his home in Coaltown of Balgonie, Scotland
where they were forgotten until his son John recently agreed for them
to be put on local display to mark the 70th anniversary of the nuclear
bombing.
Obliterated: Japan is today
commemorating the loss of 140,000 people killed in the initial Hiroshima
blast, as well the countless numbers who died later as a result of
radiation poisoning
Tragic: Wrapped in bloodied bandages, a Japanese mother cradles and breastfeeds her injured baby
Chaos: The unknown photographer is
believed to have died shortly before his camera went on sale, as nobody
could have survived the radiation levels in the area so soon after the
bombing
Carnage: The
collection of photographs were discovered 10 years ago, but their
display at Scotland's Secret Bunker museum is believed to be the first
time they have been shown together
Blast: 'Little Boy' - the first
atomic bomb one used at war - killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima
(pictured). A second bomb 'Fat Man,' dropped over Nagasaki three days
later, killed another 70,000
As
well as displaying the harrowing images, Scotland's Secret Bunker are
also showing the critically acclaimed 1965 film, 'The War Game', which
depicts the fictional aftermath of a nuclear event.
Although
it was commissioned by the BBC and directed by Peter Watkins, the
organisation banned it for over 20 years. The film did appear as a
cinematic release, however, which earned it an Oscar for Best
Documentary Feature in 1966.
The film was eventually broadcast in 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.
Japan
marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing this morning, with
Mayor Kazumi Matsui renewing calls for U.S. President Barack Obama and
other world leaders to step up efforts toward making a
nuclear-weapons-free world.
Tens
of thousands of people stood for a minute of silence at 8:15am at a
ceremony in Hiroshima's peace park near the epicenter of the 1945
attack, marking the moment of the blast. Then dozens of doves were
released as a symbol of peace.
The U.S. bomb, 'Little Boy,' the first nuclear weapon used in war, killed 140,000 people.
A
second bomb, 'Fat Man,' dropped over Nagasaki three days later, killed
another 70,000, prompting Japan's surrender in the Second World War.
Prayers: Visitors prayed for an end to
nuclear weapons as Japan came to a standstill to mark the 70th
anniversary of the Hiroshima blast
Silent tribute: The sun rises over the Atomic Bomb Dome beside the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima
Visitors pray for the atomic bomb victims in front of the cenotaph at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park today
Symbol of peace: Dozens of doves were
released into the air over a park in Hiroshima, which lies close to the
epicentre of the 1945 attack
Deep in thought: A woman prays in
front of the memorial to the victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic
bombing on the 70th anniversary of the attack today
The
U.S. dropped the bombs to avoid what would have been a bloody ground
assault on the Japanese mainland, following the fierce battle for
Japan's southernmost Okinawan islands, which took 12,520 American lives
and an estimated 200,000 Japanese, about half civilians.
Matsui
called nuclear weapons 'the absolute evil and ultimate inhumanity' that
must be abolished, and criticized nuclear powers for keeping them as
threats to achieve their national interests. He said the world till
bristles with more than 15,000 nuclear weapons.
He
renewed an invitation to world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki
to see the scars themselves, during the G-7 summit in Japan next year.
'President
Obama and other policymakers, please come to the A-bombed cities, hear
the hibakusha (surviving victims) with your own ears, and encounter the
reality of the atomic bombings,' he said.
'Surely, you will be impelled to start discussing a legal framework, including a nuclear weapons convention.'
The
anniversary comes as Japan is divided over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
push to pass unpopular legislation to expand the country's military role
internationally, a year after his Cabinet's decision to loosen Japan's
war-renouncing constitution by adopting a new interpretation of it.
Commemoration: Children stage a 'die-in' in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima earlier this morning
All ages: Japanese girls on their way to school take a moment to pay their respects to the Hiroshima victims
Flowers:
Representatives of A-bomb survivors (left) and Japan's Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe (right) carry wreaths to lay for victims killed by the atomic
bombing at a cenotaph during the peace memorial ceremony
Future: A young girl offers prayers to the victims of the Hiroshima attack at the 70th anniversary service
Contrast: Women are seen praying for victims of the atomic bombing in front of the Hiroshima cenotaph today
A woman is seen deep in prayer at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, which lies close to the bomb site
'We
must establish a broad national security framework that does not rely
on use of force but is based on trust,' Matsui said. He urged the
Japanese government to stick with 'the pacifism of the Japanese
Constitution' to lead the global effort of no proliferation.
Abe,
also addressing the ceremony, said that as the sole country to face a
nuclear attack, Japan had a duty to push for the elimination of nuclear
weapons. He pledged to promote the cause through international
conferences to be held in Hiroshima later this month.
With
the average age of survivors now exceeding 80 for the first time this
year, passing on their stories is considered an urgent task. There were
5,359 hibakusha who died over the past year, bringing the total death
toll from the Hiroshima bombing to 297,684.
U.S.
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and representatives from more than 100
countries, including Britain, France and Russia, attended the ceremony.
'Little
Boy,' dropped from the Enola Gay B-29 bomber, destroyed 90 percent of
the city. A 'black rain' of radioactive particles followed the blinding
blast and fireball, and has been linked to higher rates of cancer and
other radiation-related diseases among the survivors.
Visitors observe a minute of silence
for the victims of the atomic bombing - 70 years to the minute after the
bomb exploded over the city
A young boy clasps his hands in prayer at the site of the Hiroshima bomb blast this morning
Doves fly over Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Park in west Japan this morning. Tens of thousands gathered
for peace ceremonies in the city
Still mourning: Attendees offer flowers for Hiroshima victims during the peace memorial ceremony today
People pray for victims in front of the cenotaph at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park earlier today
Premier: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe watches on during the 70th anniversary ceremony in Hiroshima
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